Maligned film director takes a swing at his critics

VANCOUVER, Canada — Tired of the criticism of his films, controversial German film director Uwe Boll took on four of his critics in a Vancouver boxing ring, and ended each bout with a knockout.

The director of the vampire flick "BloodRayne," based on a video game and starring Kristanna Loken and Ben Kingsley, issued a fight challenge to his critics several months ago. Fifteen responded.

"I like now the critics," Boll said at a news conference after the fights on Saturday. "Everybody who was in the ring showed [guts]. Nobody dived.

"If they write about my movies without even seeing the movies, then it's really annoying. If you make a movie like 'House of the Dead,' a zombie movie, what are they expecting? 'Schindler's List'?"

First in the ring with the director -- now dubbed "Raging" Boll -- was Richard Kyanka of Lee's Summit, Mo., webmaster of Somethingawful.com. He entered the ring clad in stars-and-stripes shorts.

"You are harboring a terrorist," he said of Boll to the British Columbia crowd of about 600. "You are all guilty." Boll, grim-faced, KO'd him in the first round.

Jeff Sneider of Los Angeles, a journalist with Ain't It Cool News, went down in a technical knockout in the first round after his trainer threw in the towel.

He said Boll, 41, had told him it was just a joke, a public relations stunt.

"Then he started beating ... my head," he said. "I think he's a jerk. This might be PR, but I don't want to keep getting punched in the head."

Chris Alexander of Toronto, a horror-move journalist with Rue Morgue radio and magazine, also went down in a knockout, but not before making an artistic statement.

While on the receiving end of a series of blows to the head, Alexander took Boll aback when a stream of blood spewed from his mouth. It turned out Alexander had taken a page from Boll's book; the blood was fake.

Alexander said he got in a punch for each of Boll's bad films. "I think I got him once in the face for 'Alone in the Dark' and I got maybe one or two for 'BloodRayne.' " he said. "I have absolutely no

Nelson Chance Mintner, a website critic from Frederick, Md., was the youngest fighter at 17. He also lost by a TKO.

Boll's next picture is "In the Name of the King: A Dungeon Siege Tale." Like "BloodRayne," it's also based on a video game. It features Loken, Jason Statham, John Rhys-Davies, Ray Liotta, Matthew Lillard, Leelee Sobieski and Burt Reynolds.